Employee successfully sues Insurance Company for work related injury
In a landmark judgement in the USA delivered in February 2022 an employee who suffered from exposure to asbestos was held to be entitled to recover damages from MCC, an Insurance Company, and now part of the Zurich Insurance Group. It was outlined to the Court that the Insurance Company had carried out surveys of his place of work and safety risk assessments, all of which noted the high incidence of asbestos, and also medical examinations of the employees.
However at no stage were the employees ever told of the presence of asbestos . Maryland Supreme Court in its considered judgement stated:
“…The record further indicates that not only did MCC fail to warn the workers, but it took affirmative actions to conceal this information from the workers, effectively increasing the risk of additional harm to mill workers from further asbestos exposure.”
The Court also went on to hold:
“……….the scope of duty owed by MCC to Hutt and other Grace workers was to use reasonable care under the circumstances to warn them of the known risk of exposure to airborne asbestos in and about Grace workplace(s).”
Another important feature of the case is that it was not brought as a worker’s compensation claim but rather on the basis that the Insurance Company had a duty as administrators of the Company’s safety plan to warn workers of the hazards to which they were being exposed.
https://thewesternnews.com/news/2022/feb/22/former-asbestos-worker-wins-365-million-lawsuit/
If you have sustained a work elated injury you may be entitled to recover compensation. Please contact our office for legal advice and assistance at 045-432382 0r email info@bnsolicitors.ie